Scientists at Imperial College, London, recently found that pugs in the UK are so inbred that although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals. Now I had to laugh when I heard this story, although sadly its actually very bad for the dogs.

Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London, said: “People are carrying out breeding which would be first of all entirely illegal in humans and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals.

“In some breeds they are paying a terrible price in genetic disease.”

To be honest, pugs are quite cute, as you can see from the photos below.

look into my eyes and tell me you love me!

UK RSPCA chief vet Mark Evans was interviewed recently and he said-

He said: “The welfare and quality of life of many pedigree dogs is seriously compromised by established breeding practices for appearance, driven primarily by the rules and requirements of competitive dog showing and pedigree dog registration.”

As a trained veterinarian, yes I have to agree with him- overbreeding of pedigree dogs has serious health risks and so I prefer a mongrel any day, much healthier…….. but hey its up to you.

There should be more regulation of the pet trade however, I think this is becoming obvious worldwide.

Ok- for the fun side, here are some PUG GIFTS!!!!! for all the pug lovers out there.